I was in my literacy room waiting for my third graders. The same room I teach in now. My para walked in from her break. “You haven’t left the room, have you?” she asked. “No.” I said. “Then you don’t know.” she said, quietly. “Know what?” “I will tell you after.” “No, please tell me.” “The World Trade towers are no more.” It was 10:45 on September 11, 2001.

I am kicking off my renewed interested in blogging. I know I am not the most interesting writer, but I am going to try.

When I was in high school a friend gave me a book called 14,000 Things to be Happy About. I started a list of my happy things in 1993. When I stopped I had 223. I doubt I will ever get to 14,000, but I thought I might try to hit 1000 in my lifetime. I added to the list last year, and then again last night. Here are my latest additions that make me happy:

my son

my baby’s smile

walks on a perfect summer day

bagpipes in the distance

crisp fall days

my students doing well

back pain-free days

homemade apple pie

fresh macaroni and cheese

new books

computers that work consistently

having a president of color

the freedom to speak out against your government without fear (even if you are stupid)

I started having irregular contractions Friday morning. Around 11:30 that night they started to become more regular and harder. I started pushing around 9 am and delivered at 11:40 am. So I was going for about 24 hours, but the hard part was really 12 hours.

How did you know you were in labor?

I didn’t, for a while. But when I couldn’t sit down or lie down I was pretty sure that’s what was going on.

Where did you deliver?

At a hospital, but the “maternity ward” is really a Birthing Center. Where the smart people are. Our Lamaze teacher said many times, “When you start to want to be where someone knows what they are doing, it is time to go to the hospital.”

Drugs?

Yup. Well, sort of. I didn’t have an epidural, but the transition contractions were killing me and I had narcotics to help me rest and ease through that part. I would totally do it that way again.

C-section?

Nope. He was heads down for the last 4 months.

Who delivered?

I delivered, but I had a midwife who was there to catch the baby. I saw three midwives through my pregnancy and I got just what I needed in delivery, the sweet, funny one to get me through the early stages (3 am -7 am) and the no nonsense one in the pushing part (I don’t remember a few hours in there). I barely remember my first two nurses, but the two that were there for the delivery were terrific! My husband was there with me the whole time, holding my hand, rubbing my back and holding my leg when I had no strength left. My mom arrived just after 6 followed by my MIL and then my dad. My sister arrived at 11, just in time for the “good stuff”. I didn’t think I would want them all there, but in the end it was great.

I found this meme on Rocks in My Dryer and I am so glad I could participate, finally, in one about my baby.

Not to mention loads of stuffed animals, boxes of toys, shelves full of books, a Bumbo seat and a wagon, a Cozy Coupe, a little car and a slide (all bought used for a total of $35). And he is only 3.5 months old. We are already running out of room for our own things.

The idea came from a book Joe bought me for Christmas. The book is: Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscureand it was edited by Smith Magazine. The book is based on Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” The idea is to tell a story or describe your life in six words and the book is a collection of these. A few examples from the book jacket: “Found true love, married someone else.” “After Harvard had baby with crackhead.” It’s interesting reading and has set me thinking in many directions so it might be worth checking out if that’s your kind of thing. ~Show My Face

Tonight we are heading to NY to spend time with my mother-in-law, her mom and her brother’s family. We are going to the Capital District Scottish games. This will mark my 10th year going to the Scottish Games with my husband’s family. The games are okay. We get there in plenty of time for the parade of tartans and then the massed bands. We also walk around and look in the shop tents. We like to watch the games.

Some very neat things have happened in conjunction with the Scottish Games. In 2000, I went to my first games 3 months after we started dating. I got to meet my husband’s family for the first time. A couple years ago we got to meet Steve Caporizzo from WTEN. He took a picture with Gramma and then (after I emailed him) he sent her a really nice note. But last year was the best. We stayed in a hotel in the Berkshires on Sunday instead of going home. 40 weeks later we were 3 instead of 2.